Blog for Moms Over 35

Our groupforolder moms over 35 parenting later in lifeblog features moms and experts sharing. We share about living life fully over age 35, and write not just about parenting experiences, but life, growth, aging, etc.

Given Robin’s personal passion for sharing cool finds, travel destinations, unique attractions and theatre going, she and others write periodic reviews of products, services, trips, Broadway and Off Broadway shows and other forms of entertainment, attractions and leisure pursuits….whether for kids, moms or couples.

If you’d like to submit a topic, product, destination, event, show or attraction for consideration, write robin@motherhoodlater.com. Happy to hear from you!

I couldn’t help myself. My shopping cart was almost filled as I wheeled around the California Walmart getting what I believed were essentials for my second child’s dorm room. A table light, comfy sheets, new pillows, a wastepaper basket (oh, and look at that great rug!)—item after item filled my cart. I knew I shouldn’t be doing this. I had learned so much from my first son as he transitioned to college. Trust that they will make the right decisions, give them space to grow and make their own mistakes, be there for them when they need you but don’t overstay your welcome. I knew all these things in my heart, but if his bed was uncomfortable or his feet were cold at night, he would appreciate my efforts then! As I wheeled my cart around the corner, my six-foot-tall son stood at the end of the aisle staring at me. “No, Mom. Just put it back. I don’t need any of it.” “But sweetie, your pillows are old and that comforter you brought is from middle school. This will be so much nicer,” I pleaded. “Nope. Mom, just put it back. I’ll be fine.”

The primary aim of The Wonder Weeks is to reassure you and to give you insight into the mental changes your baby goes through as they grow. It is not easy when your baby takes a leap in their development and it affects your baby, you, and your family. We hope that The Wonder Weeks will help alleviate your doubts and concerns because you will know why your baby is upset during certain periods. We cannot eradicate the stress that accompanies a leap, and we wouldn’t want to, either. Stress is all part of life and parenthood, and it shapes us, making us more alert and more receptive to the changes our baby is going through. And that latter is important. What we can do, however, is offer you a helping hand by reminding you of the importance of taking time for yourself and suggesting ways to do that, with 5-​minute, 10-​minute, and longer “anchor moments.” These are simple things that you can do, or not do, that anchor you in the here and now. They take you away from the roller coaster of events and emotions and help you regain balance; they provide a moment … Continue reading..

One of the things about being an older mom with a child considerable younger than his/her siblings, is that you inevitably begin to spend more time one-on-one with that youngest child as time passes and the siblings get older. When my two oldest sons were in college, I found myself eating out or going to movies very often with my youngest son, their little brother who was nine and six years older than them. And since I held my youngest back a year in school because he has an August birthday, there is a decade gap in school between my oldest and youngest. My oldest was a college freshman in 2009, while my ‘baby’ just started his first year a few weeks ago. That’s a lot of time in between. An age-gap baby indeed.

But I’ve so enjoyed my one-on-one time with my son, which was frequent, especially when my husband travels a lot. What I’ve enjoyed most are the trips that my youngest and I have gone on together. Several weeks before he went off the college two and a half hours away, Jason and I went to Chicago together — just the two of us. I loved it, … Continue reading..

We have always been an aquarium-loving family, so this summer we decided to pay a first time visit to The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. It is the only aquarium focused on Long Island Sound, and it explores related animals and conservation issues from around the world.

A constantly evolving facility, The Maritime Aquarium offers visitors personal interactions with animals and interpretation by knowledgeable staff and volunteers. It supports an active collaborative research program on species and natural systems related to its collections, and it serves as a regional forum for dissemination of information related to Long Island Sound and the oceans.

The aquarium’s ultimate goal is to help people recognize that Long Island Sound enriches the quality of their lives, and must be protected. From sea turtles to jellyfish to playful seals, there was plenty of underwater eye candy to observe and in some cases touch.

We spent about two hours, including taking in one of their IMAX® movies included in the price of admission. All standard movies are about 40 minutes long. The film we chose was Superpower Dogs and totally loved it. Very entertaining and enlightening film that sheds light on the training and all that these … Continue reading..

I am a blogger on my personal websites, Jodi Darter and Mommy Dish, and a parenting writer/contributor for several publications, including HuffPost, The Mighty, and Scary Mommy. I am also the author of a novel children’s book, When You Lived in My Belly.

Tell us about your path to parenthood. Growing up, I envisioned the conventional route to motherhood–love, marriage, and a baby carriage–but that wasn’t the path I was supposed to take. The proverbial stork dropped a sweet 8-year-old girl on my doorstep first.

If you asked me in my twenties if I would marry a widower with a child at age 32, I would have emphatically said, “No” (or “Hell, no!” because I had an attitude). But that’s exactly what happened. While my relationship with my ex-husband did not last, my love for his daughter did. We bonded over milkshakes, movies, and mom-and-me moments she missed losing her mother at age 4, and I was smitten. I still am.

Still, I longed to experience the magical moment of discovering my pregnancy, nourishing a living being growing inside of my belly, and feeling the pure … Continue reading..

The marriage you enter into with your pediatrician can last for more than 21 years, so buyer beware: it is important to spend time deciding what type of person you are, and what type of support and availability you will need.

The following story may have played out much differently, had the patient’s parents spent more time finding a pediatrician better suited to their situation.

I reached down and laid my hand on the shoulder of the sobbing mother who sat in my exam chair, her small child nestled in her arms.

“It is going to be okay, we’ll figure this out together,” I reassured her. Her newborn child was having problems breastfeeding and I could feel the anxiety and sense of failure radiating from her hunched shoulders.

She had driven more than two hours from her home in Connecticut to see me, searching for answers and a solution to the escalating daily battles between her and her infant. I had found a tongue-tie in this perfectly formed baby boy, something relatively common in newborns. at paired with his mother’s inexperience with breastfeeding had turned what should have been an enjoyable bonding experience for a mother and child into a … Continue reading..

Having been recently diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis (a very painful foot condition), I’ve been on a quest to educate myself both about the best self care and strategy going forward, particularly in the shoe department.

So the timing was perfect when I was introduced to a company called Moji.

Since their introduction in 2017, Moji’s Heated Foam Roller and Heated Massage Balls have become the go-to heated massage products for warm up and recovery for athletes and active people. And, now with Moji’s Thermal Bag™, you can bring them to your yoga class, gym, dance studio, etc.

Anyone reading recent news has surely seen the myriad of articles about the birth rates for women in their 30s being at the highest levels in four decades. You might wonder why women are delaying having children when the medical establishment is so gung-ho on informing us that “Advanced Maternal Age” raises the risk of miscarriage, congenital disabilities, twins, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and difficult labor. Here are the four main reasons moms wait to have kids until later in life.

Science and technology give women a choice

Women still struggle with social permission to delay marriage and childbirth. We are no longer labeled spinsters after a certain age, but the question remains, “when are you going to get married?” Or the equivalent, “don’t wait too long to get pregnant!”

In 2016, for the first time in history, more women in their early 30s were having babies than younger moms. The social pressure may still exist, but reliable birth control and assisted reproductive methods have given women control over when they want to begin a family.

Pursuing higher education

High school graduates are increasingly encouraged to pursue higher education; women with degrees have children about seven years later than … Continue reading..